"Whipped Up, Drawn and Dramatized" by the unpredictable Ungerer, a potpourri of one-paragraph nonsense narratives about animal characters with names like Arson Twitch, Sir Spiffy Loin, Mr. Lido Rancid, Mr. Tuber Sprout, and Dr. Stigma Lohengreen. Then there is Papa Snap, shown on the cover behind a huge beaked book and in the end disappearing (striped-trousered legs last) into a "very hungry sofa." Between there's a lush jungle (where Sir Spiffy, his pig's tail dangling vulnerably above a long, sinuous, open-mouthed snake, captures a rare carniverous flower), a sinking surreal battleship (hit by bathtub-navigating Arson with his slingshot), a disaster-crammed railroad station (where Mr. Sprout misses the train every morning because its clock is always five minutes ahead of his own), the fleshy protruding trunk that inspires Andy Rondak's "Holy kayak, there is an elephant in my igloo," rotten (store-boughten) birds' eggs, junk, clutter, glut, corpulence, catastrophe, and physically palpable absurdity. With none of the elegance or story interest of Zeralda's Ogre (1967) or The Beast of Monsieur Racine (p. 806, J-292), all of this unbuttoned Ungerer might gross you out (see Mr. Slop Glut's gastronomic indulgence) but there is enough sly drollery on every page to keep anyone turning.
Pub Date: Nov. 17, 1971
ISBN: 1570982597
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1971
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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